Johnson has an impressive history
of leadership at both state and
local bar association levels, having
served a three-year term as the
Southeastern District representative
on the Washington Young Lawyers
Committee and as former vice-president of the Benton-Franklin
County Bar Association’s Young
Lawyers Committee. Beyond his
dedicated involvement within the
legal community, the committee
particularly valued his commitment
to the broader public, as evidenced
by his work with Yakima County
Volunteer Attorney Services, as a
sponsor and supporter of fundraising
efforts for Benton-Franklin County
Boys and Girls Club and The
Children’s Reading Foundation of the
Mid-Columbia, and as a volunteer
judge for the annual YMCA Mock
Trial Competition at the Benton
County Courthouse. In 2017, he
also worked to raise funds to plan
and build a new horse stable for
Therapeutic Riding of Tri-Cities
(TROT), which allowed TROT to
house an additional horse to provide
more therapeutic services for
children with mental and physical
disabilities in the Tri-Cities area.

Johnson recently became a partner at
Johnson & Johnson Law Firm, PLLC,
in Yakima and Kennewick.

ANDRÉ PENALVER

Penalver’s nominator lauded his
extensive pro bono work on asylum
cases, employment cases, and at local
legal clinics. In recognition of his
hundreds of hours of volunteer work,
he received the 2017 City of Destiny
Award for Equity and Empowerment
from the city of Tacoma and was
named Volunteer of the Year by
Yakima County. Since 2017, he has
served as board president for the
Campaign for Equal Justice, which is
the largest private source of funding
for civil legal aid in the state, funding
groups such as Northwest Immigrant
Rights Project, Columbia Legal
Services, and various neighborhood
clinics. He has also traveled
around the state to raise awareness
about civil legal aid, helping the
Campaign for Equal Justice raise
$1.6 million last year. The committee
was particularly impressed with
the positive impact he has had
on the recipients of his pro bono
efforts, along with his extensive
involvement in his local community—
including his work with Washington
Trafficking Prevention (an antihuman trafficking organization);
Puyallup Food Bank; Tacoma
Philharmonic; and as a mentor for
College Success Foundation, which
pairs underprivileged high school
students with professionals in
preparation for college. Penalver is
an assistant United States attorney
with the United States Attorney’s
Office in Tacoma.